Fossils on Mars - A Collection of Evidence

Fossils on Mars

Okay time to get serious...

I have been planning to put this all on one thread for some time, though we have shown examples in several threads.

I have a lot of material on this one so please refrain from posting until I get it all posted so it won't interrupt the flow... This will take me awhile to pull all the related files and double check the links etc...

Thanks for your patience

Exhibit 1

Gusev Crater Spirit Rover Sol 386
Lichen Like Fossil

Microscopic Imaging Camera and the RAT abrasive tool

In the image below you will see a circle cut into the rock by the RAT and in the center is a very interesting object. I have added two items from Earth for comparison.



Here is the original source

NASA Rover Gallery

And the full size image



Fossil Flower on Earth



Lichen on Earth



In another frame you can see two more circular 'fossils' (in the boxes) that have not been drilled...

Opportunity Rover
Endurance Crater Sol 125
Corals?

Highlighted in yellow boxes



NASA Rover Gallery

Full image...



Continued next post...


[edit on 28-8-2008 by zorgon]

Exhibit 2

Opportunity Rover Digs for Fossils
Sol 30 to Sol 33

The Famous "Rotelli Fossil"

One of the most famous anomalies talked about is the "Rotelli" fossil. It was found in these images and is one of the best case samples for life on Mars to date. It was called "rotelli" because of its shape, looking like rotelli pasta on Earth.

The name of this one was coined by NASA so don't shoot the messenger




Okay now that you have had your laugh (don't forget the "Blueberries" another NASA name), lets get on with it...





Some of the images containing the 'fossils' are listed below. Opportunity spent several days drilling in this area.

1M130859833EFF0454P2959M2M1.JPG
1M131117213EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG
1M131117272EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG
1M131117332EFF0454P2953M2M1.JPG

NASA SOL 30

NASA SOL 33

Below I have highlighted several interesting areas as well as two drill marks.



There are many other samples that we found in these images and a few are highlighted below... a "Rotelli" and a "Turritella"....





Three very good specimens of "Turritella"....

Earth specimen for comparison


Raw Clip...



Highlighted clip



Direct Comparison



According to NASA

A close-up of the Last Chance rock after it was RAT-treated reveals a tiny spiral-like object (red arrow), likened to curved macaroni, set in a texture that itself is "mysterious". The object may be a cutting artifact of the abrasion tool or it may be a natural, intrinsic component of the rock. Among speculatiions: it is a fossilized organism, but that view is quite tentative. However, some "optimists" are already claiming to see 'nebulous' evidence of other life forms. Visit this MER fossils website for a pictorial summary of such conjectures.

NASA

very interesting stuff Zorgon. There are definitly similarities between the Earth lichen picture and the purported lichen picture on Mars.

The "Rotelli" Fossils seem genuinely organic as well . . . how many of these "rotelli" fossils have been found in mars pictures?


Nice finds.

edit: my apologies for posting in the middle of your introduction posts Zorgon; thought you were done when you posted exhibit 2.

[edit on 8/28/2008 by JPhish]

Exhibit 3

Despite this bombardment, very primitive life had already formed by 3.5 billion years ago. To the left are micro bacteria fossils of this age (used as the standard against which to judge the claims for micro bacteria in the meteorite from Mars). (J. W. Schopf, www.astrobiology.ucla.edu...)



SOURCE: University of Arizona

Exhibit 4

Spirit Rover Sol 1144
The Case for Turritellas

The image below is reduced so go get the full size version



Full Size...



Spirit Rover on Sol 1144

I also have a false color version available... created from the filters..



Full size...



ArMaP first pointed this one out to us in one of Mike's threads... He saw a hand but I will let him talk about that one My interest is in the turritellas for this thread.

"I have found a "critter" too!
See in this image, it looks like a hand or a paw trying to get from under the rocks in the middle of the image, to the right. But that does not mean that I think it is a fossil or even a living creature, but that I find this rock even stranger than the others, I really do." - ArMaP

Clips











The conical spirals are very clear in this clipping. These two specimens are just below ArMaP's "hand"



The conical spiral of a "Turritella" specimen in the center, with an interesting hexagonal piece beside it. This one is above and to the right of the "hand"





Hexagonal fossil on Earth



Continued next post...










[edit on 28-8-2008 by zorgon]

Exhibit 5

NASA Evidence From Mars

Some time ago I found a NASA presentation given at a Science symposium by Chief Scientist Dr Jim Garvin...

I am going to add it here as intermission... and to show that NASA does play tricks on us all...

Here is the opening...



The image above is taken from a NASA Power Point Slide Presentation on Life on Mars.... The Cartoon is funny, but its also an "In Your Face" comment directly from NASA... Below is the entire slide from the presentation.



"NASA Searching for life on Mars. Are we Ready?" - Jim Garvin



Also in the presentation for the scientists were two images I found fascinating

THE GARVIN TRILOBITE



THE GARVIN ARTIFACT



Pretty amazing images yes? Here is the slide they were on..

"Scientific outcomes can be largely unknown" - Jim Garvin



Now ArMaP and I did extensive work to identify these two anomalies, because quite obviously coming from NASA these would be quite a spectacular discovery... After months of looking ArMaP found "White Boat Rock" (the one with the artifact) (Humphrey was easy to find)

Only problem is when we got the high res images and the color set.. THERE WAS NO FOSSIL or ARTIFACT... at least in the copies we had access to.

SO that means either they were removed... OR the presentation was a deception. As nothing in the presentation indicates it was a 'joke', and the fact that Dr Jim Garvin refuses to answer any emails (at least from us ) it presents a dilemma

Doctored Photos? or Deliberate Obfuscation?

Well since I found Sojourner out in the Desert behind Johns house last year...





The work and images that ArMap and I did on these two items is here..
EVIDENCE FROM NASA

The file that the slide were from is here
NASA: Dr Jim Garvin - Mars_Search for Life Slide_Presentation PDF

GARVIN PDF


Continued next post...

Thanks zorgon...this is interesting stuff. I tend to lean towards the likelihood of finding fossils on Mars before finding existing life. I think some of these images are very intriguing and at the minimum, suggest some past oceanic activity on Mars.

Exhibit 6

Much Ado about Fossils
Opportunity :: Microscopic Imager :: Sol 034



The image above is one of the best case images so far for fossils in Martian rocks. This one was posted on Richard Hoagland's site Enterprise Mission and he goes into great detail on issues surrounding this discovery. Below we have highlighted the three main areas of interest... From my years of experience hunting fossils in the field I would say these were indeed fossils... looking exactly like round corals embedded into the rock.

Full size image from NASA



NASA ROVER GALLERY

Highlighted main objects of interest



Opportunity also took a second set of three images on that day... It too has a drill... Now this is where I have to disagree STRONGLY with Hoagland..

The image below was taken on the same day, and shows three RAT drill holes roughly in the same configuration as the above fossils...



It is Hoagland's contention that NASA deliberately destroyed the three fossils to cover it up...

First of all let me touch on that issue... IF NASA had ground a fossil to dust... this would be a GOOD thing, as its onboard analyzers could then determine if compounds were in the material that indicated organic chemicals... and where there is one fossil there would be thousands... just look at any well known fossil site on Earth where they literally weather out of the host rock and just lie around for the picking

But if you look at both images two things pop up... the texture of the rock is totally different and the holes, while similar, do not match exactly.

NASA ROVER GALLERY

Here is Hoagland's presentation



ENTERPRIZE MISSION

This is the kind of stuff that hurts us all... even non experts in rock can see the texture difference

It even comes with two cartoons by Steve Troy..


© 2004 Steve Troy with permission


© 2004 Steve Troy with permission

And just for the "Its only Rocks" crowd... my daughter spotted this one and colored it... pretty amazing actually... makes one wonder who has..

The Last Laugh
What? ANOTHER Face on Mars?



Continued next post...

Exhibit 7

This is an old one... first presented by Joseph Skipper at
www.marsanomalyresearch.com...

He had circle the two 'skulls' and when I pulled the original files I spotted several other pieces that had the look of bones and fragments of bones...

Here is the clip from the best image...(it appears in several in the set)



Here is the full size...



NASA ROVER GALLERY

In the following clip the Green circles are Skippers, the white are mine (best pieces) and the yellow are maybes



Later on as this area was studied by several people Papajake colorized the individual pieces..

Fossils Revisited

posted by Papajake, a member of ATS on 21-3-2007 @ 11:03 AM THIS POST
"I started colorizing what I thought might be fossils, but there was so many that I just stopped. Nearly the whole photo looks like a fossil field mixed with dirt and rock."

Closeup Clips

This is one of the best samples in the above image because you can see the porous nature of the "bone" fragment



This one is round as well as curved along its length. There are branches and the end gives indications of it being hollow



Similar piece, also round, a feet inches away from the one above. There is a third piece a little more to the right, partially buried



"Diapsida Skull"
Now this one has to be by far one of the best pieces of evidence of past life on Mars... nostril holes, eye sockets and beak...



"Diapsida Breastbone"
Best description I can think of...



More interesting fragments...







Gilmoreteius Skull
This specimen was found in the Gobi Desert fossil fields



And yes they DO just lie around on the surface in a desert as the wind blows away the sand and erodes the harder fossils out of the stone... same with shale rocks where water erodes the softer stone leaving the fossils behind

Guillermo Rougier hunts for early mammal fossil in Mongolia's Gobi Desert




THE END

For now



[edit on 28-8-2008 by zorgon]

I can not thank zorgon and ArMaP enough for all the work they have done to create this fantastic thread. Every single member of ATS should read, star and flag this one. I hope the staff has the good sense to shower you both with applauses. In my opinion this is one of the most significant, valuable threads ever posted here at ATS.

You have confirmed my strong belief that there at least at some point was life on Mars. The compelling evidence you have provided can not be ignored. NASA is definetely hiding something - a little something called the truth.

And now I only have one question:


Mr. Zorgon, may I be excused? My brain is full.

Starred and flagged.
Excellent work Zorgon & ArMaP

Interesting stuff.

On the slideshow side of things, my opinion is that it was a joke and that the slide in question was showing what would be unfathomable or incredible. I could imagine the acompanying lecturer saying 'And here are some examples of what we believe would be groundbreaking discoveries, if real'...

Superb thread Zorgon... A riveting read and some of those examples are very compelling.

I would guess that whatever we might be able to glimpse about Mars in those photos, the actual reality that would be revealed in all those pictures we never get to see would be amazing!

Keep up the excellent work, and thanks for a very entertaining and informative thread.

here some more possible fossil types from the spike archive for ya Zorgon.....

snaggletooth....

marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov...

gooseneck....

marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov...

Great thread...a star and flag

reply to post by Vector J


Ah yes this could quite possibly be true... and could easily have been addressed with a short reply to emails at a site that LISTS his email for questions

Now it is also possible that my 'reputation' precedes me though I have gotten replies from the HiRise team...

Perhaps some else would have better luck?



Dr Jim Garvin

PRESENT POSITION:
Geoscientist/Topographic Remote Sensing specialist and Project Scientist, Earth System Science Pathfinder Project at NASA's GSFC, Geodynamics Branch, Lab for Terrestrial Physics

CURRENT ACTIVITIES:
Chief Scientist, Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA)
Project Scientist, ESSP
Co-Investigator, MOLA Experiment, Mars Global Surveyor
Principal Investigator, Landscape Monitoring of Iceland using RADARSAT
Principal Investigator, Topo. Monitoring of Mt. Rainier

core2.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Oohhh that Shuttle one is new Wonder what they are blasting?

reply to post by zorgon


Have you any evidence that he is replying to other questions asked after yours? It's possible he hasn;t responded to any queries for some time for whatever reason. But the idea of your reputation proceeding you, whatever they might think of you, sounds more likely. Has anyone else, ie other researchers in this area you know, that might be unkown to NASA, asked?

By the way, was the slideshow publically available?

Although it is strange that they ignored your question, I still find it highly likely that it was a faked image used to provide an illustarted point in their talk, and as you weren't in attendance at the lecture, they probably can't be bothered to explain it to you. But it would take about 30 seconds to type that exact response and email you, so it is odd that they didn;t...

reply to post by zorgon


Again, more great finds. I will have to put you on my list. Keep it up, you are doing great work.

reply to post by zorgon


Thanks Zorgon! OUTSTANDING... creepy as all sin as usual, but OUTSTANDING nonetheless! Flagged and Starred

Originally posted by Vector J
Have you any evidence that he is replying to other questions asked after yours?

No idea... nor do I care what his reasons are. I presented what I found, we doubled checked to see if there was anything to it, and its up to the reader to take what they wish...

I also have no intention of dragging this out to detract from the fossil evidence

reply to post by zorgon


funny you should mention that in the other pictures the artifact was not there as I was actually thinking when looking at that image that it did not "look right"

I think the presentation was false.

As for some of the other photo's in this thread. some of them are very interesting. The thing I have problems with is when you look at the earth fossil examples you see a clear difference between the texture of the earth it was found in and the fossil itself. In the mars photo's there is not a clear distinction between the texture of the earth and the texture of the believed fossils.

Which leads to the possiblity that it could just be an optical illusion as some must be.


Overall though these images have some promise but I do not see any as yet that stand out as undeniable, but several seem plausible.